Page 53 of Shattered Secrets
Did I hear right? “What?”
“Shhh.” The lawyers scold us, and I have to stay with my thoughts until the hearing is over. I have no idea what they decided. I can’t concentrate on anything. I remember the detective at the hospital. She was surprised to hear my version... I have to talk to Ethan alone. Now.
As soon as the hearing is done, I rush out, pulling Ethan by his arm to a side corner, completely ignoring my lawyer’s call to stop. There’s time to catch up later. Right now, I need to hear what the hell happened there.
I glare at Ethan as we find a quiet corner in the hallway. “Ethan? Why did he say you admitted to shooting Michael?”
“Because I did. When they took a statement from me in the hospital, I said that I was the one who shot Michael and killed him.”
“Why would you do such a thing? You weren’t even conscious when it happened.”
“Because I thought you did.”
“What? I’m confused. What do you mean?”
“I knew Michael was dead, and I knew he’d been shot. Ryan updated me at the hospital. When the cop came to take a statement from me... Well, I just assumed you’d shot him.” He’s wringing his hands. “I didn’t know what happened.”
“So you meant to put the blame on yourself?” My mouth falls open.
“Yes,” he says simply.
“I can’t believe it.” I raise my hands to my mouth, unable to digest it. “I can’t believe you did that for me.” My heart beats fast. This is the most amazing and crazy thing anyone has ever done for me. “So what are we going to do? How do you get out of this mess?”
“I don’t know. The judge continued to hearing, and we have until after the holidays before we have to come back. The lawyers will have time to file their pleadings in the meantime, so they’ll have to think of something by then.”
Oh. “But the police closed the case against us. Why isn’t that enough?”
“It helps, but this is a civil lawsuit. It’s an entirely different story.” He turns his head, and I follow his gaze and see Ryan and my lawyer waiting impatiently for us. “We need to get back to them.”
He lied for me. He was ready to take the blame. The dissonance between the sense of betrayal from the hard breakup on the phone and what I just discovered he did for me makes me dizzy. How do I continue from here?
Ethan follows me to my apartment and waits for me to get inside. But I’m not ready to say goodbye to him yet. “Do you want to come in?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he says.
“Please? I want you to stay with me.”
He turns off the engine and gets out of the car. Neither of us dressed well for being outside, and we rush inside to the heat.
“I’m so confused by you,” I say as soon as we’re inside. “How could you be so cruel to me on the phone and be willing to go to jail for me at the same time?”
He plops down on the couch, looking defeated. “I couldn’t stand myself at that moment. I think that best sums up the situation.”
I can’t read the expression in his eyes.
After a brief silence, he goes on. “I couldn’t live with the thought that everything that happened to you was because of me, and I couldn’t save you. The sight of you on that bed haunted me for months. Honestly, it still does. In the end, you saved yourself again. I thought you’d be better off without me.”
“How could you think that? When you knew I loved you? And after everything that happened between us?”
“I wasn’t worthy of your love.”
I shake my head. “It wasn’t your decision to make, Ethan. It was mine.”
“I understand it now. It took me a long time to get out of the black hole that sucked me in, but after seeing you again, I realized that my future doesn’t exist without you. So here I am, ready to convince you to choose me again.”
Tears flood my eyes, and one runs down my cheek. I move closer to the sofa, then I sit next to him, holding his face so I can look into his eyes. “I choose you again.”
The golden sparks in his eyes flicker now as he tries to stay in control of his emotions. But I see the flashes of those emotions on his face: wonder, hope, and love.
